The blow left Aaldert in a coma for three days. Miraculously, he doesn’t break a single bone in the fall and his skull is intact. However, he does suffer a serious brain contusion, damage that means he has to learn everything all over again.
But it was tough to swallow at first. Aaldert was always a huge sports fanatic, he says. Cycling, running, playing football, tug-of-war, he did everything. And he just had to get used to having to compromise on that. “The specialists said: you have to learn to live with that. But I’m not like that,” he says. “Sports have always been my outlet.”
Over the next 15 years he worked hard on his recovery. Because he is too stubborn to accept it. “If it doesn’t work out at first, it will probably be better next time. I’m always as positive as possible.” He is now running enthusiastically again. In fact, he gives running training himself and completed his first marathon in Klazienaveen eleven years ago. “I don’t put on my shoes before five kilometers,” he laughs.
He largely owes this comeback to Marjolein, he freely admits. “I had to take a Cooper test for school,” says Marjolein. “I asked Dad to help me. He hadn’t run for years at that point.” Aaldert: “I didn’t trust my body at the time. My left leg didn’t do what I wanted. After a few hundred meters I kicked myself, so to speak. But I thought: we’ll just try it.”
What started with a regular walk along the canal grew into much more. Marjolein: “When I was done, dad said: ‘I’ll do another round.’ Then I knew: the fire has been rekindled,” Marjolein laughs.
By the way, she has a typical nature when it comes to stubbornness. For years, Marjolein was also a real sportsaholic, as she describes herself. From table tennis to fitness and kickboxing. Until she suddenly started suffering from stiff muscles and joints. “After a period of extreme muscle pain and fatigue, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. I slept fourteen hours a day and could barely walk.” She was told she needed a wheelchair. “But yes, I am stubborn. I thought: yes, cuckoo, we are not going to do that.”
With intensive rehabilitation and a lot of perseverance, she fought back. “Eleven years ago I ran my first run in Klazienaveen.” Aaldert looks at her proudly. Because he knows better than anyone where she comes from. “A victory over yourself,” he smiles.
The idea for the sponsored run came from Marjolein. “Last year I started running again,” she says. “Then I asked Dad again to train with me. Then I thought about how special it would be if we ran a half marathon together.”
During training the conversation turned to the past. “I asked him: how long ago was that accident? ‘Forty-two years,’ he said. Then the penny dropped. A half marathon is 21 kilometers, so together we run 42. That can’t be a coincidence. The circle has come full circle.”